Social Mission
Shelter animals who need a home. Local artists and musicians who need a stage. The pet care professionals who deserve to be treated like professionals. That is our mission, and #SparkAndBark is how we make noise about it.
It is all the same act
A shelter dog sits unseen in a cage, and gets adopted the moment someone finally notices her. A local musician makes something beautiful that nobody has heard yet. A pet care worker does real, skilled work that the gig economy treats as invisible and disposable.
Look closely and those are the same act: giving a spark and a voice to someone the world tends to overlook. That is not a slogan we added later. It is literally what Spark & Bark has always meant, light up what deserves attention, then make some noise about it.
So our mission is simple to say, even when it is hard to do. Sparky Steps is a pet care company built to be a force for good, using the platform we have to lift up the overlooked: animals, creators, and the people who care for our pets.
Spark & Bark: light up what the world overlooks, then make some noise about it.
A social enterprise that happens to walk dogs
Sparky Steps was built on purpose, for a purpose
Our founder, Michael Jaurigue, graduated with a BA in Social Entrepreneurship, the study of using business as a tool to solve real problems in the world. Sparky Steps is one of the ways he set out to do exactly that.
That reframes everything on this page. We are not a dog-walking company that does a little charity on the side. We are a social enterprise that happens to walk dogs, partnering with shelters, creating dignified jobs, and putting real Chicago artists in front of new audiences. The dog walking funds the mission. The mission is the point.
Three sparks
One mission, lifting up the overlooked, shows up in three ways. Some are humming along today. Some are just catching fire.
A spark for shelter pets
Overcrowded shelters face heartbreaking choices, and the most direct fix is simple: help these animals get seen. Through our Two-Step Events, hands-on volunteering, and giving back a share of what we earn, we put overlooked pets in front of the people who will love them.
A stage for empowered professionals
The people caring for your pets deserve dignity, not gig-economy scraps. We pay our walkers an industry-leading 80% of the service fee and build real, sustainable jobs, because caring for animals should be a career worth keeping, not a side hustle to burn out on.
A spotlight for local creators
Chicago is full of talent that just needs to be heard and seen. Lo-Fi for a Cause showcases local music producers on our YouTube channel, and artist-designed merch, returning later this year, will put local artists in front of new eyes, with a share of proceeds flowing right back to shelter animals.
We are still building this
Here is the honest truth: the impact is not yet everything we want it to be. The vision is bigger than what we have finished, and we are still figuring parts of it out as we go.
But the hard part already exists. The Two-Step is real and genuinely beautiful. The 80% payout is real. Lo-Fi for a Cause is real. The artist merch is on its way back. These are not someday ideas, they are working vehicles, and we are adding fuel to them all the time.
So consider this less a finished monument and more an open invitation. If any of this speaks to you, the best thing you can do is jump in. A mission grows when more people carry it, and there is plenty of room for you here.
Make a spark of your own
You do not need a title or a budget to make a difference. You just need a free afternoon and a phone. Here is the whole routine.
Create a spark
Volunteer at your local animal shelter. Walk a few dogs, spend time with the cats, or just hang out and give them the human company they crave.
Snap a photo
Take some pictures. A goofy selfie or a beautiful portrait, whatever makes their one-of-a-kind personality shine through to a future adopter.
Bark about it
Walk with us at a community meetup
Every so often we gather in person to walk shelter dogs together. Good exercise, new friends, and maybe a forever home found along the way. To hear about the next one, email us at info@sparkysteps.com.
Chicago Canine Rescue volunteer info
You are welcome to walk dogs at Chicago Canine Rescue any time between 10am and 7pm, seven days a week. All you need is a photo ID, comfortable shoes, and to be at least 18 years of age.
Cannot make a meetup?
Head to your nearest shelter whenever you are free and volunteer on your own time. Just remember to tag #SparkAndBark.
Find Chicago animal sheltersQuestions about the mission
I am busy. How can I still help?
Even small things move the needle. Sharing an adoptable pet's post, stopping by a shelter for an hour, or tagging #SparkAndBark all put animals in front of new eyes. You do not have to do everything to do something.
Where do the charitable donations go?
Toward local shelters and rescue efforts here in Chicago. Our returning artist merch will again send a share of profits to shelter animals, the same way our original shop did before we pressed pause.
What do music and merch have to do with pet care?
It is the same mission wearing different clothes. Lo-Fi for a Cause spotlights local music producers, and our upcoming artist-designed merch spotlights local artists, both lifting up overlooked creators while supporting shelter animals.
Do I need experience to volunteer?
Not at all. If you love animals and can follow a shelter's volunteer rules, you are exactly who we are looking for. Shelter staff will show you everything you need to know.
Explore the mission
This is bigger than dog walking
It always has been. If lifting up the overlooked, animals, creators, and the people who care for our pets, sounds like something worth doing, come help us build it.
